The Chosen One
by xXdarkblossomXx
Summary: Angela is facing all the struggles of being a newcomer on Waffle Island: trying to create a successful farm, save the island, make friends, and find love. Not to mention she has an unhealthy obsession with mining. To add to the mix, her best friend Claire also moves to the island and they work on saving the island together. AngelaxOwen ClairexJin
1. Chapter 1

_Angela is facing all the struggles of being a newcomer on Waffle Island: trying to create a successful farm, make friends, and find love. Not to mention she is obsessed with mining. To add to the mix, her best friend Claire also moves to the island and they work on saving the island together._

_AngelaxOwen ClairexJin_

* * *

When I woke up a very unhappy face was peering down at me. The intense frown on his face almost made me cringe. "That is the fourth time this week you collapsed in the Ganache Mine, Angela." Jin, the doctor, had been telling me the whole week not to go back to the mine. I had a bit of an obsession with mining. "Do _not_ go back to the mine for the rest of the week. I don't want to tell you again." Jin was usually a pleasant person, so the iciness in his voice caught me off guard. "You have only been on Waffle Island for a month and a half and you have been in this clinic for at least half of that amount of days."

I let out an airy laugh, sitting up and rubbing my forehead. Jin turned his back to me, and I could see his long black hair that was pulled up.

"I understand that Owen is always in the mine, and you like him-"

Suddenly, I got very defensive. "I do _not_ like Owen." Of course that was a lie. Owen was training to become a blacksmith from his grandfather Ramsey and he spent most of his time in the mine. He liked ores from the mine. Jin apparently thought that I only mined so much to impress Owen, but that wasn't true. I just loved the thrill of mining.

Jin rolled his dark eyes discretely and pushed his glasses up a bit. "If you say so. Anyways, I'm sure he is getting tired of hunting for you then bringing you here almost every day. Give it a break, Angela."

I nodded and slid off the bed. After Irene, his grandmother at the front desk, retrieved some medicine for me, I was on my way. I wanted to go back to the Ganache Mine, but I knew I didn't have enough energy. Instead, I went down to the dock. Pascal, the ferryman, was arriving and with a few people I had never seen before. At first I thought they were all girls, but the longer I stared, the more I began to think one of them was actually a man.

Pascal waved me over and I trotted over to the group. "Angela, I brought some new villagers. Shelly is a tailor." I smiled respectfully at the older woman and the skin near her eyes crinkled as she returned the gesture. As he introduced them, he motioned in their direction. "Her granddaughters Luna and Candace are apprentices at her shop. Julius is a metal smith."

Luna barely gave me a smile and Candace bit her bottom lip. Julius said, "Pleased to meet you." I was sure now that this person was a male by the way he sounded. Luna's pink curls bounced as she nodded, agreeing with Julius.

"Glad to see some new faces," I laughed, scratching the back of my head. Julius brushed a few purple locks away from his face. He was really pretty; I was somewhat jealous of his looks. "Anyways, I should get back to the farm. There's still so much to get done..."

Candace nodded and said softly, "Of course." Apparently she was really shy and Luna had some sort of attitude from the looks of it.

I offered a smile and a wave. "Well, see you around..."

I got away as fast as possible. It seemed awkward around those four. Candace was extremely shy, Luna has an attitude, and Julius was just kind of weird. He was a man with good fashion sense and wore jewelry. Shelly was the only one that seemed completely normal. I laughed at that thought. Was exactly _was_ the definition of normal?

The truth was that I had actually gotten all my work done of the farm early in the morning. All I had to do was water about twelve plants. I had no animals yet; I was still working on getting enough money to build a chicken coop. I had already remodeled my house once.

It was only about a minute after entering the Maple Lake District that my eyes caught sight of Gill, the mayor's arrogant son, strutting upon the same path I was on. I groaned. Gill had good intentions, like wanting to make the island great once again, but he was prissy.

"You're making good progress on the farm so far," he commented as he passed me on the path. "Better than I thought you would be doing by now, for sure."

Pursing my lips together, I continued toward my farm. Once I turned onto the path to the Caramel River District, where I lived, I almost turned around and ran after Gill. I wanted to punch him so badly, but I knew it would give me a bad reputation. I was just beginning to make friends and earn trust. Hitting Gill would satisfy me, but I would lose my friends in return.

Clenching my fist at my side, I smiled bitterly. Maybe one day when I was feeling more bold than usual...

_XxXxX_

The next morning after watering my crops, I decided to make my way over to the Ganache Mine District. It was the part of the island that I visited the most. I was so happy that the carpenter's apprentice, Luke, had cut the root to that part of the island near my house. The carpenter, Dale, hadn't wanted him to do it. Dale had claimed that it was part of the "Mother Tree" and that the Harvest Goddess would be angry with Luke for doing such a thing. Luke didn't listen. He cut it anyways, saying that the Harvest Goddess would understand, and if she _did_ happen to get mad, that she could spank him. That comment had raised a few eyebrows.

Luke was nice and all. I didn't like the fact that he liked me, though. I tried to avoid him whenever I saw him. It wasn't very nice of me, but he was just so full of himself that it was a complete turn-off. Besides, he had some sort of obsession with lumber and trees. It was kind of creepy.

The only problem about the path near my house to the Ganache Mine District was that it passed the carpenter's shop. I was bound to run into Luke more than I would like. Dale's other apprentice, Bo, was not that bad, though. He was a couple years younger than me. He was pleasant.

After the path met up with one near the carpenter's shop, I hopped behind a tree. A second later, I peeked out from behind it and scanned the area. No one seemed to be outside just yet, which was relieving.

Grinning, I started trotting by the carpenter's shop. I happened to glance into the shop on my way by, catching Luke's eye. I froze suddenly, eyes widening. He did the same thing and then he disappeared from the window. That was when I ran full speed to hide in the Ramsey's blacksmith shop.

My entrance into the shop was loud. Everyone seemed to jump as I entered, panting. Five pairs of eyes were staring at me. Wait...five?

"Julius?" I said, raising a dark eyebrow at the man.

He smiled weakly. "Angela, right?" I gave a nod. "Pascal already told you, I am a metal smith. I work here now." I gave another nod then directed my attention to Mira, the woman who refined ores and gems and made accessories.

"Was Luke after you again?" she mumbled. I stared at her with my eyes narrowed slightly. I didn't know her that well, but she teased me sometimes. Julius was standing beside her, and I could tell they were related in some way. Probably aunt and nephew was my guess; I knew Mira didn't have children. I also think her husband died somehow because she always seems sad when mentioning him.

My blue eyes drifted over to Owen. He raised a red eyebrow. "What's up?"

I tugged my rucksack off my back and pulled out a silver ore. "I found this the other day. I thought I'd give it to you." The red-haired man took the ore from me and smiled, thanking me. "Anyways..." I glanced at Ramsey and his granddaughter, Chloe. Chloe was Owen's little cousin. "I should get going..."

Turning toward the door, I was about to walk out when Owen said, "You better not be going to the mine. Jin came and talked to me yesterday after you went home. He told me that I shouldn't let you go in the mine. He doesn't want you there for the rest of the week."

I shrugged and nodded, turning to look at the man I liked. "I am going to go to Soufflé Farm and work part-time. You don't have to worry about me going to the mine or anything. I heard Jin's instructions loud and clear."

After I shut the door to the blacksmith shop I sprinted toward the mine. I could hear the door open only seconds later.

"Angela!" Owen called in a scolding voice. I continued running. When I glanced behind me, my eyes widened. I had no idea Owen could run so fast. He was practically stepping on my heels as I entered the mine.

I was almost to the stairs leading to the second floor of the mine when I tripped and fell flat on the ground. Owen ended up tripping over me because he had been so close behind, but I rolled out of the way before he fell on me.

When I glanced over at him, I was met with a glare. "Soufflé Farm is closed today." I didn't know what to say, so I just grinned innocently. I stood, brushing myself off.

"Sorry Owen. The thrill of the mine is just...it's addicting. Am I right or am I right?"

He heaved a sigh. "You're right. I don't blame you. I love mining, except I know when to draw the line. I know when to quit and not over work." He pushed himself up off the ground. "I'm not always going to be around to find you and take you to the clinic. You should take care of yourself."

Crossing my arms, I sighed. "Yeah, I should. I'm sorry I've put you through so much trouble. I will start taking care of myself."

"Promise?"

I sighed again. If I promised then I would seriously have to stick to my words. I just hoped I could do that. "Yeah, I promise."

_XxXxX_

My best friend was laughing over the phone. "You're such a dork, Angela." I rolled my eyes at her words and smiled. Out of everything I left behind in the city, she was what I missed the most. My best friend, Claire Rowland, had been my friend ever since middle school. Living so far away from her somewhat pained me, but we just needed to take different paths and not hold each other back.

"Hey, I miss you..." I blurted out, randomly changing the subject.

She giggled. "I miss you, too. I won't for long, though!" This caused me to raise an eyebrow, although she couldn't see it. "I called Mayor Hamilton and he offered me the oceanside plot of land on Waffle Island. I'm moving there in about a week."

My mouth dropped open. I didn't know what to say. It was amazing that my best friend was going to live so close to where I was. I let out a squeak. Whenever I got extremely happy I would squeak randomly.

Claire's laughs tumbled through the phone after hearing my happy squeak. After a second, I joined in.

_XxXxX_

I rolled out of bed at six in the morning and got dressed. Like every other morning, I went outside and watered my tomato and corn plants. The day started out just like any other day. It wouldn't be the same as usual, though, since I wasn't going to go to the mine. I was trying not to even think about the mine.

Finally, I decided that I would head over to Caramel Falls and take a dip in the hot spring. It wasn't long before I was in the nude and relaxing in the warm waters near the waterfall.

I rested my head back against one of the rocks lining the hot spring and closed my eyes. The sound of the waterfall and the warmth from the hot spring made me sleepy. It would be dangerous to fall asleep in water, though, so I opened my eyes every couple of minutes to make sure I didn't drift off.

The heat eventually got overwhelming, so I got out of the hot spring and reached for my...

"Where are my clothes?" I said out loud, my heart suddenly pounding from the dilemma. That's when I saw the monkey that is always down near the waterfall running off with them. "Hey! Monkey!"

The primate stopped and glanced back at me. I smiled sweetly and held out my hands. Inching toward the spot where the monkey was, I said softly, "Come on, those are mine. Can I have them back? Please?"

After I got a little closer, the monkey zipped off down the winding slope toward the bottom of the waterfall. I growled angrily and ran after it, hoping that no one would be down there. To my dismay, Toby was down there. Fishing. He was _always_ fishing.

I leapt behind a huge rock and peered over it to see what the monkey was doing. Toby didn't seem to notice it as it tossed my clothes carelessly wherever it wanted. My bra ended up falling into the water.

"Shit..."

I watched as Toby reeled in my bra. He held it by one strap, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyebrows raised. The silver-haired man didn't seem to know exactly why this had happened, or what he should do.

He glanced around after a minute and spotted me. I felt like dying. His eyes widened and he seemed very puzzled. I realized he could take it the wrong way and think I _wanted_ him to reel in my bra.

Quickly, I explained, "I was in the hot spring and the monkey stole my clothes and my bra got tossed into the water..."

He still seemed a bit dazed, but he nodded, set my bra down and then left the area. Sighing in relief, I gathered all my clothes and redressed. This had been my last clean bra and now I had to wear it while it was wet. There were wet spots seeping through my shirt. It was completely obvious where my bra was placed.

It was mid-summer, so I knew the wet spots would dry if I stayed out in the sun. I wasn't exactly the shy type when it came to these kinds of situations either, so I didn't really mind walking around like such. I actually found it quite humorous.

I passed Kathy, the daughter of the bartender, and she giggled at me. Smiling, I yanked teasingly on her long blond hair that was pulled back, causing her to laugh. She didn't have very much clothing on most of the time with her outfit, but she was a really nice person. During the day she liked to hang out at Brownie Ranch because she liked horseback riding, and during the night she helped her father, Hayden, at the bar in Sundae Inn.

At some point I ended up passing Toby. He tried very hard not to look at me, but he ended up glancing my way. I laughed lightly and apologized. He was a very easy-going man, so he merely started laughing along with me.

When Mayor Hamilton saw me he turned bright red and started mumbling under his breath and shaking his head.

"Nice new look," someone said. I turned to see Selena standing behind me, a hand on her hip. She came from Toucan Island for the flower festival and hasn't left yet. She wears even less than Kathy. Sometimes she was nice and other times she was cold and antisocial.

I gave a grin. "Thanks, Selena." She tucked a loose strand of dark red hair behind her ear and gave a small laugh before walking away.

Finally, I decided that I would go to the tailor shop to see what they had. It was the first day they were open. Candace was at the counter behind the cash register. She greeted me with a weak smile. After a second she looked down at the ground, her blue hair falling in front of her face.

"It's nice to have a place to buy clothes now," I commented, making my way over to the cash register.

To my surprise, Julius walked out of the back room. He froze, smiled and then laughed. "That look definitely isn't in style. Well, I suppose it attracts the attention of men..."

My blue eyes narrowed into a glare and I crossed my arms over my chest. "I didn't mean for it to happen." I snorted and my glare softened a bit. "Anyways, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the blacksmith shop?"

The man waved his hand in dismissal. "I don't get much business. A day off won't make a difference." He went over to a shelf in the back corner behind the counter and retrieved an outfit. "This would look good on you." He handed me an outfit and I observed it for a minute. He was absolutely right...it really would look good on me. I trusted his judgment on fashion, so I handed Candace the money for the outfit and thanked the two before walking out of the shop with my new clothes.

Julius didn't seem to be gay, which was surprising. He was just more feminine than most men. I shrugged. It was nice that someone could give me fashion advice.

It was on my way back to my farm that I ran in to Chloe. She never went to town, so I wondered why she just happened to be going there today.

"Hey, Angela!" she chirped, both of us stopping. "You look funny today..." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Why are your boobs wet?"

I started to turn red; I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "My bra got wet while I was at the hot spring." She started giggling and walking away, waving. "No one needs to know about this, okay, Chloe?"

"I'm just going to tell Owen. He will think it's funny."

"N-No, Chloe-" She was already running off toward town and could no longer hear me. I gave a soft whine and slouched over a bit as I continued on my way back to my farm. Today just wasn't my day...


	2. Chapter 2

For about a week I had been avoiding the Ganache Mine. It was a great accomplishment for me, and Owen even came and gave me a red stone he found in the mine because I hadn't been there for a while and he was proud of me. I warned him that it wouldn't be long before I was back to mining like crazy, but I reminded him that I would not over work.

I had just got done watering my crops and was starting on the path toward the Ganache Mine District when I heard someone call my name. Turning, I spotted my best friend. Her hair was blonde and stopped just above her shoulders, which was shorter than I remembered it. Her bright blue eyes were sparkling as she ran up to me, smiling. Her arms wrapped around me in a tight hug, and I found myself hugging her back and laughing.

"You're here!" I exclaimed, pointing out the obvious. She just laughed at my statement and nodded. We spun around in a circle while hugging. "When did you get here?"

We let go of each other and my friend replied, "About an hour ago. I'm already settled in at my house and everything. This place is really nice. There are so many beautiful things to draw." Claire had always really loved drawing, especially nature; she carried a sketchpad with her sometimes. At the moment, I noticed she didn't have it on her. "I decided I am going to be an artist rather than a farmer. The mayor told me that I could open up a shop at my house if I wanted, and I could also sell my art at the Art Festival next year, since it already took place this year. Although, I do have some farm land too, so if you need it you're more than welcome to use it!"

I nodded, grinning. "You could also sell art at the flea markets. There is a flea market held every month." The brightness in her eyes seemed to intensify. "I'm so glad you are here!" One of my squeaks slipped out and she laughed at me.

"So, is this your farm?" Her eyes scanned the house and field. "You only have twelve plants. What have you been _doing_ the whole time you have been here?"

I bit my bottom lip. Now that she was here, she would surely keep me in line. "Well, I love mining. I spend most of my day there..."

She shook her head and sighed, blonde hair swaying. "You need to get a chicken coop built or something. Mining is _not_ everything, Angela." After the very brief scolding, she grinned. "So, where is this Owen I've heard so much about?" I crossed my arms and glanced to the side, a blush rising to my cheeks.

"Probably at the mine..."

Grabbing my wrist, she started dragging me up the path. Surprisingly, she was going the right direction without even knowing it.

"You have to introduce me to him. I have to know who he is. You _are_ my best friend, after all. I need to know who you like, what kind of a person he is...stuff like that."

As she dragged me up the path, I didn't remember to hide from Luke. He was making his way toward the Praline Forest a little ways away from the carpenter shop.

"Hey, Angela, I was thinking about coming later and asking if you liked your remodeled house..." His voice trailed off as he looked at Claire with a puzzled expression. The woman at my side froze, eyes widening a bit. At that moment, I knew Claire had a slight crush on Luke. It was a shame that he liked me. His comment also made me twitch. My house had been remodeled about two weeks earlier; he was just finding some sort of excuse to visit me.

I gestured to my best friend. "Luke, this is Claire. She is my best friend and she just moved here to Waffle Island."

The blue-haired man smiled and gave a thumbs up enthusiastically. "I'm Luke. I'm an apprentice of the carpenter. I'm pretty awesome at cutting wood..."

I gave an airy laugh and forced a smile to my face. "Well, we should get going."

"See you around, Angela!"

I didn't respond to his last sentence, I just kept walking briskly toward the mine. The female still holding onto my wrist seemed to be in a daze. After a couple minutes, her gaze snapped over to me, and she seemed focused.

She sighed. "He likes you and you don't like him, am I right?"

"Umm...duh. I can tell _someone_ does like him, though."

Pink dusted Claire's cheeks and she didn't say anything. I snickered as we entered the mine to find Owen talking to Chloe and laughing. She had already told him about my wet bra incident, which had him choking on his laughs when I saw him the next day. I just hoped she hadn't found out anything else embarrassing to tell him about me.

When he saw me, he smiled. That made my heart race. I could tell Claire was trying not to giggle at everything that was happening.

I smiled back at him and said, "My best friend Claire just moved here. She wanted to meet some people...so...Claire, this is Owen." I glanced over at Chloe and she grinned brightly. "This is Chloe, his little cousin."

"Nice to meet you both," Claire said, offering a smile to Owen and his cousin.

Silence lulled between all of us, so I got an ore out of my rucksack and handed it to Owen. "Thanks again for the gift the other day...happy birthday."

His face seemed to a get a tad red. "Hey, thanks. This is great. You...know when my birthday is?"

I bit my bottom lip. It would probably seem stalker-ish if I told him I had asked Ramsey when it was. "I heard your grandpa say something about your birthday being today. Just thought it would be nice to give you something." I scratched the back of my head.

His head tilted to the side slightly. "When is your birthday?"

"M-My birthday?" I was delighted that he was asking. The only problem was that his question made my mind like jello and I couldn't think of when it was exactly.

Claire was not good with remembering names or dates, but I was hoping she would pull through for me on this one. I glanced over at her discretely with pleading eyes.

"My birthday is on..."

"Winter 19," Claire said quickly. It almost seemed like she just blurted out some random date, but that was the right one. I nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, that's right. Born during a bad winter storm." Ducking my head slightly, I waved at him. "Well, we should be going." The two people in the mine bid us farewell.

Once Claire and I were outside she started laughing at me. "The one time you can't remember a date is when you need it most." Her laughing stopped abruptly. "Winter 19 _is_ the right day, right?" I laughed and nodded. She seemed relieved and delighted that she had remembered.

We spent the rest of the day going around the island. I introduced Claire to everyone except Jin and Irene because the clinic was closed, and I didn't spot either of them anywhere. Afterwards, we went back to her house.

The inside was painted a cream color and the floor was made of wood. The arrangement of the furniture was scarily similar to how my furniture was arranged. There was an easel set up in the far corner of the small house and Claire's bag was already put away.

The blonde woman flopped onto her bed and sighed. "This island is wonderful."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. This action got her attention. She sat up and crossed her legs, staring at me questioningly. It wasn't that I disliked the island; it was just that it had used to be much more wonderful than it was now.

"It could be a lot better," I murmured. "The soil is not good, the wind doesn't blow enough for the windmills to work, and the sea is too rough a lot of the time, making it difficult for travel. It's been a bit calmer lately, though." I sat down beside her on the bed. "There is a strange, almost unbelievable, story behind all of that. Do you want to hear it?" After a second, she gave a firm nod. "There is a huge tree on this island called the Mother Tree. Its roots stretch far across the island. A goddess watched over the island; the Mother Tree was said to be her's. There were also many rainbows that decorated the sky above the island. People started neglecting the tree, and over time, the rainbows disappeared and the Mother Tree died. Ever since then the soil has been poor, the seas have been too rough, and the windmills don't work."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty intense. Kind of crazy..."

"It's true, though." I stared at her with my eyebrows furrowed. "The Harvest Goddess has helpers, little fairies called Harvest Sprites. I found a quilt that told me how to find them...usually only children have that ability."

"And...?"

A grin formed on my face. "I met one named Daren. There are various large and beautiful trees across the island with a single flower underneath. The quilt instructed me to water the flower. When I did, a Harvest Sprite appeared."

She pursed her lips together. An internal battle was going on in her head. I knew she was trying to decide whether I was telling the truth or making the whole thing up. It was a pretty unbelievable story, so I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't believe me.

Instead of letting her conflict continue, I resumed telling my story. "The Sprite told me that the Harvest Goddess wanted to make the island great once again. He told me to start out by creating rainbows."

The room suddenly filled with laughter. "How are you supposed to create a rainbow?"

"The Sprite gave me a recipe. If I collect everything and take it to the Sprite then he can make a rainbow."

My friend was shaking her head, sighing. I knew she was still undecided. "That's a strange story, Angela. If you had proof..."

I stood up, stretching and yawning. "Tomorrow we will go visit Daren, the Harvest Sprite. It's late, so I will see you tomorrow." Leaning on the edge of the bed, I gave her a quick hug. "It's great to have you here. I'm glad you like this place."

_XxXxX_

Claire was trailing behind me as we made our way over to Town Hall. The tree that had a green flower growing underneath was Daren's tree, located right beside the town square and Town Hall on a grassy hill.

My watering can was already out, and I was ready to show Claire what I had told her about. Tipping the can, I poured the water until it morphed into Daren, a small fairy dressed in green.

Claire's eyes were wide with disbelief and Daren was whining about the water being cold.

"Angela, did you get all the ingredients yet?" the green fairy asked hopefully. I bit my lower lip and shook my head, causing him to lose all his happiness. After a second, he perked right back up and jumped up and down. "Well, that's okay! You will get everything soon enough!" He spun around once then grinned up at me. "Why did you come here, then?"

I jabbed a finger in Claire's direction. "I just wanted to show her that you exist."

Daren peered up at Claire and waved enthusiastically. "Hi there, I am Daren!" He spun around again. "You should help Angela get the ingredients and help save the Harvest Goddess. After the Mother Tree died, she died somewhat too."

I gave a nod and glanced at Claire. "She only appears in my dreams. Even then, she can't always say everything she wants to. She's very weak."

My best friend raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. After clearing her throat, she said, "Umm...sure? I guess I could help." It was obvious that she was still a bit shocked at what had happened. Daren did some sort of dance to express that he was ecstatic.

"Well, then...good luck!" Seconds later, he was back to being a flower.

Claire and I stood there for quite a while as she gazed at the flower with a dazed expression on her face.

Once she had composed herself, the two of us went to Sundae Inn to have some lunch. There were a lot of people there for lunch, more than usual. Luke was there, sitting at a table with his father Dale and the other apprentice, Bo. As soon as he spotted us he waved us over. I cursed under my breath the whole way there, but Claire smiled shyly.

"Have some lunch with us!" Luke chimed. There was an empty chair beside him, so I directed Claire to that seat and retrieved one for myself from another table. The man seemed a bit let down, but his expression turned thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, Claire..."

My friend was immediately staring at him after hearing her name. "Where do you live? Just wondering so that I can drop off some lumber later. We have way too much, and I figured you would have the least out of anyone since you just got here."

In a breathy voice, she told him where she lived. He smiled at nodded at her and I could see her eyes flicker over to me very quickly. The ghost of a smile formed on my face and Claire and I ordered lunch when Maya came over and took our order.

The bright strawberry-blonde braids that hung at the sides of her head always kind of bothered me for some reason. There were very small things about a lot of the people that bothered me, but those things just made them who they were. Over time I adjusted more and more to whatever bothered me. Like Ramsey, for example. He had a _huge_ bird-like nose. Owen obviously didn't get his nose, thank goodness.

I was as silent as possible during lunch. I didn't want to talk to Luke and say something stupid that gave him the wrong idea about our non-existent romantic relationship. He and Claire made short comments about various things, but that was pretty much all.

After our food was eaten and we paid, I grabbed Claire's arm and drug her out of there as fast as possible. It had seemed to be getting stuffy in the Inn, so the fresh air was very nice.

"Let's go to the mine. Some mining sounds good right now..."

Claire crossed her arms. "I don't really like mining."

"Come on," I begged, clasping my hands together in front of me and giving her a pleading expression. "I love mining so much. Besides, I could teach you a little bit more about it. Oh, there are shining crystal-like rocks that glow in the mine..."

"Shining crystal-like rocks that glow in the dark?" she squeaked, eyes brightening. I nodded. That was all I had needed to say for her to follow me the whole way to the mine.

When we entered the mine, Chloe glanced over at us and giggled a little. I raised an eyebrow. Owen shrugged when I looked at him questioningly, then turned around and started grouping some ores he had collected.

"What?" I asked her.

The little girl giggled even more. She managed to stutter, "N-Nothing." After that, she bolted out of the mine, covering her mouth with one hand and trying to stop the giggles.

I scratched the back of my head and looked at Claire. The woman had an eyebrow raised. "That was a bit odd. Do I look funny or something?"

Claire laughed. "Well..."

"Oh, shut up."

Chuckling, my best friend followed me down a set of stairs to the second floor of the mine. There were none of the crystal-like rocks in sight. Claire gasped and crossed her arms, shrieking, "Where are those shining crystal rocks you said were down here?"

I rolled my eyes. "There just aren't any on this floor. There are some on lower levels that we will get to." I waved my hand around. "Be careful down here. There are pitfalls all over the place. I wouldn't want you dying from a nasty fall." Turning around, I started collecting the few mushrooms I spotted in the corner of that floor of the mine. I could sell them for quite a bit of money.

It wasn't long before I heard part of the ground break off. Claire let out a squeal in surprise. She attempted to move off the weak spot on the ground, but it ended up snapping off. My best friend went tumbling down to another level of the mine, screaming shrilly.

"Claire?" I said firmly, rushing to the hole in the ground. I received no answer.

"Shit!" I found the stairs to the next level and hurried down them. She had fallen through that floor too, so I rushed to the next one. I found her there, sprawled out on the ground. "Claire!" She groaned in pain, but that was the only response I got.

I rushed to her side and knelt down. "Are you okay?"

"It...hurts..."

I heaved a sigh. "At least you aren't dead. I'm going to take you to the clinic, though, to make sure nothing is broken or injured really bad."

Luckily, I had developed muscles from using so many tools. Picking up Claire was easy. I carried her up the stairs. Owen shook his head at us and offered to help, but I told him I could handle the situation. My friend groaned almost the whole way to the clinic, her eyes closed in pain. I hoped she wasn't seriously injured. The first time I had fallen through a few floors, I had surprisingly hit feet first, then stumbled back onto my butt. Claire hadn't been so fortunate.

Jin seemed a bit shocked when I entered the clinic with my best friend in my arms. He had been expecting to see me, I knew, but he had been thinking I would be the one that was hurt. Seeing as that wasn't the case, he rushed over to me and started asking questions.

"What happened?" I laid Claire down on the bed in the examination room after following the doctor in there. I explained everything that happened and he checked all her vital signs, which were normal. "And who is this, exactly? I have never seen her before."

Claire inhaled sharply in pain when he pressed a bit on her ribs. "I'm...Claire Rowland..."

"She's my best friend from the city. She just moved here and is living on the oceanside plot of land."

He told her that he would have to lift her shirt up a bit. She nodded stiffly and I watched a blush form on her face as he pressed lightly on her ribs, his hands coming in contact with her bare skin.

At that moment, I knew Luke was completely out of the picture.

After doing a thorough examination, Jin hummed in thought. "It seems like you have two bruised ribs and a couple cuts on your arms. Other than that, you are fine. Mainly you just got the wind knocked out of you from the impact." He turned to me, glaring. "Angela, you know the mine is dangerous. You should keep a better eye on your friend. She isn't used to the mine."

I crossed my arms. Jin was always lecturing me about something. The two of us were friends, and I knew it was only because he cared about me as a friend that he lectured me so much. It was also his duty as a doctor to tell me what to do for my health and safety.

He instructed Claire to take it easy for a few days, and also not to bump into anything around the rib area. He said within about a week her ribs would feel a lot better, and would be healed for the most part.

The two of us walked out of the clinic together, Claire clutching one of my arms for support.

"Who...was that?" she asked, realizing she hadn't learned his name.

I grinned at her and wiggled my eyebrows. "That is the doctor, Jin. I can tell you like him."

She rolled her eyes and looked slightly appalled. I giggled and shook my head. "I do not like him." I knew that was a lie, she was just denying it because she was still a bit dazed about it. Plus, she probably knew I already knew. A glance in my direction confirmed that, and I started giggling once again.


	3. Chapter 3

"You really should get your hammer upgraded. Upgraded tools are lighter and they use up less energy." I was trying to ignore Owen as he gave me tips on tools. We were on the 25th floor of the mine. The two of us were smashing crystal-like rocks and collecting sparkling ores that could be refined into valuable gems. Owen was standing about ten feet away from me, blabbing as he worked. "It would be a great benefit to you since you use the hammer so much. You wouldn't be so drained of energy after using it."

I stopped working and gave him an exasperated look. He straightened up and stared at me blankly. "Owen, I don't have that kind of money." Silence lulled between us and his eyes darted toward the ground. "I just upgraded my house and bought a refrigerator. I don't have enough money to really do anything right now. Once I get financially stable once again, then I will definitely upgrade my hammer. You're right, it would be very beneficial."

Swiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I wiped off the sweat that had been forming. It was a bit chilly being so far down in the mine, but the physical work kept your temperature really high.

Sighing, the red-haired man set his hammer down. "Let's take a break. I'm pretty exhausted and you look really pale." I let my hammer drop to the ground before taking a seat on the bottom step of the stairs that led up to the next floor of the mine. My companion came over and sat down beside me. I could feel a blush start to spread across my face from the closeness. The man made a humming noise, as if he was thinking about something. "The firefly festival is tomorrow."

It was already the 23rd day of summer. Claire had been resting and taking it easy for the past couple of days so that she could get better from the mine incident. I visited her frequently. She seemed to be doing a lot better today than any other day.

I gave a nod in response to his statement about the festival, my cheeks burning even hotter.

"I promised Chloe that I would take her this year. If you want to come along, that would be great...you can bring Claire, too, if you want."

I smiled softly and went to rest my hand beside me on the wooden step. Before I knew it, my hand was covering Owen's. Laughing nervously, I recoiled. "Sorry, didn't mean for that to happen." I cleared my throat, now clearly embarrassed. "Anyways...yes, I would be delighted to go with you and Chloe to the festival. I'll invite Claire to come along with us, too. I'm sure she will feel good enough to join us."

A smile formed on his face. "Great. We will meet you at Caramel Falls at seven in the evening tomorrow."

Owen stood up and went over to his tool. After picking it up, he started smashing rocks once again. I perched my elbows on my knees and watched him work for a while.

_XxXxX_

Claire shook her head and said persistently, "I am not going to go to the festival with you today. It would completely ruin everything!" I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. She was insisting only I meet Owen at the festival. I kept telling her that Chloe was going to be there, too, so it wasn't like a date or anything. "I'll be fine going by myself. Really, I will."

"I keep telling you..._Chloe is going to be there_. It isn't a date, _at all_. Please join us. Owen himself suggested that you come along."

That statement made her sigh. After a second, she nodded. Claire slid off the bed and followed me outside. It was about half an hour before the festival started, but it would take a while to get to Caramel Falls. It wasn't all that far away, but a good fifteen minutes at a leisurely walk. My best friend was feeling a lot better, and it seemed like she was almost entirely better. I still felt bad about the incident, but then again...it had caused her to meet Jin. The past few days when I had visited her I had been asked many questions about him.

As we made our way to Caramel Falls, Claire asked me what the festival was about. I told her that it was just a festival where people watched the fireflies. Even though it was warm outside, they rarely came out at night. This day was said to be the day when most of them are seen, and right near Caramel Falls. It became a tradition of the townspeople to just observe the fireflies because they were pretty and weren't around all that much.

When we arrived, I spotted Owen and Chloe sitting on the grass a few feet away from the river that came from the waterfall. I sat down beside Owen and Claire sat down on my other side.

The little girl giggled and waved at us, delighted to see us there. Owen smiled warmly, nodding to me, and then to Claire as a greeting.

"It shouldn't be too long before we get to see all the fireflies!" Chloe chirped excitedly.

A figure neared us, and soon enough, Jin was peering down at us. "Mind if I join you all?" he asked a bit softly. I smiled at him in response, and he sat down on Claire's other side and started asking her how she was feeling after the whole situation in the mine. Those two chatted lightly about her recovery, and Chloe came over to sit a bit closer to me.

Leaning over, she whispered, "Do they like each other?"

I let out a few giggles as a reply and she grinned. I had always loved children, and Chloe was cute. She could be annoying sometimes because she could definitely babble, but most of the time, I really liked her.

Grinning, she poked Owen in the side. He gave a laugh and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close so he could ruffle her hair with his free hand. They were more like brother and sister than just cousins. She whined about how he had messed up her ponytail, but laughed about it afterwards.

A small yellow-green light flickered a couple feet above the river. This caught everyone's attention. Everything fell silent, all our attention directed to the dark space over the river. After a couple seconds of staring, tons of lights appeared simultaneously. They blinked on and off, floating above the river.

One of the fireflies came close to me. Soon enough, it was just a little ways away from my face. Smiling, I reached out with my hands and cupped it in them gently. It reminded me of when I was a little girl. I used to go outside on summer nights and catch fireflies and keep them in a jar for a few days before letting them go.

Claire leaned over to me and observed the flickering light inside my hands, and Chloe scooted to my side a little in between Owen and I to see it, too.

After looking at the firefly, I opened up my hands and let the bug go, watching as it flew away, lighting up its path.

The five of us watched the fireflies for quite a while, whispering quietly about the fireflies and how beautiful the lights were. Once most of the fireflies had flown away everyone stood up. Chloe had fallen asleep leaning against me, so I had to wait for Owen to pick her up before I could stand.

"Thanks for inviting us," I said softly, glancing between my crush and his cousin. Claire nodded to him, and he smiled at all of us before bidding us all farewell and walking off with Chloe is his arms.

Jin thanked us for letting him stay and watch the fireflies with us. He insisted that he walk Claire home since it was late and very dark outside. It was odd that he didn't offer to walk me home also; it made me wonder if he had feelings for her or something. Just as I was thinking of this, he turned and glanced at me. "If you need me to walk you home, too, then I can. I just thought since you are used to this place already that you have walked through the dark many times before and know your way around well enough."

I nodded and waved my hand in dismissal. "I'll be fine. You just get her home safely."

Clair was staring at me, her head dipped slightly. I knew she was blushing, but it was so dark outside that I couldn't really tell.

Smiling softly, I watched my friend walk off with the doctor. Instead of going straight home, I sat back down and lay back in the grass, resting my hands underneath my head. The stars were shining brightly down on the island. They reminded me somewhat of the fireflies.

_XxXxX_

I ended up running into Kathy at the Inn; I hadn't seen her in a while because I hadn't really been to town. Renee was also there, and so was Maya. Renee was the daughter of Hannah and Cain, the man and woman that owned Brownie Ranch that was over near Soufflé Farm. The other woman was the daughter of Colleen and Jake, the owners of the Inn.

The three were chatting ferociously, flinging comments back and forth hurriedly, smiling all the while. I wondered what they were talking about, so I my way over to them and Kathy lunged at me, attacking me in a hug.

"What's going on?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as Kathy pulled away and started bouncing up and down.

"Renee is in love!" Maya exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "With Toby!"

I blinked a few times in surprise, my gaze shifting to peer at the brown-haired woman. I didn't hang out with her all that much, but she was best friends with Kathy, with whom I was good friends with. Through Kathy, I had heard about her crush on Toby, but I hadn't known he felt the same way about her. I rarely talked to the man.

Grinning, I patted Renee on the back. "Congratulations. When did this happen?"

"Yesterday," Renee breathed, face turning a dark shade of pink. "He asked me to meet him at Alan's Tree up near our ranch. When I got there, he confessed his love for me and I told him I loved him back. I hadn't been expecting it...we were good friends and all, but I didn't know he had romantic feelings for me. Now we're dating, and I just know we'll get married one day."

Maya and Kathy sighed, smiling brightly at the brunette. A smile also formed on my face, and I nodded. "Once again, congratulations." It was lovely that a young couple had actually formed on Waffle Island. It had been quite a while since someone had gotten married on the island, and I knew Renee and Toby would be the first couple in a long time to get married on the island.

Renee nodded enthusiastically. "Alan's Tree is the most popular place on the island to confess love. Most of the older people that have been married or are married confessed their love for one another under that tree. It's kind of a tradition. Not everyone follows it, though."

Nodding, my smile grew larger. Hopefully one day I would be invited to meet near Alan's Tree by the person I loved. I had always dreamed of getting married and having children, it was one of the things I wanted to do most in life.

After getting a bite to eat for lunch then saying goodbye to the three women, I went back outside and glanced up at the sky, taking in a deep breath. It was a nice summer day. I knew the warmth wouldn't last for too much longer since fall was so near. I had decided just yesterday that I would plant as much as possible in the fall – it was the harvesting season. I would have to earn a lot of money from my crops before winter came, and also stock up on some food. Mining would definitely be able to earn me a good amount of money during the winter when I couldn't grow anything. I figured I would be spending a lot of time in the mine with Owen in winter, and probably also visiting Claire quite a bit since I would have tons of spare time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement. Luna and Candace were walking down the street together, Candace with her head bowed a bit.

I decided to be friendly to both of them. "Hello," I called, waving at them. Instead of having an attitude problem like the first time I met her, Luna waved back happily. Candace, on the other hand, only gave one small nod in acknowledgement. "I really like the outfit I bought from the tailor shop the other day."

The two neared me, and finally stopped to talk with me. Candace had started blushing. "Yes, our grandmother made that outfit," Luna said, tilting her head to the side slightly. "She is really good at making clothes. I'm not all that good at it, that's why I have an attitude sometimes when people come into the shop. Also, making clothes is on my mind a lot of the time, so sometimes I have an attitude just from thinking about it."

I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a few breathy chuckles. "Well, I can see how it could upset you and everything. I'm sure over time you will get really good at it, though. Just keep trying."

The woman with pink/purple hair gave a nod and waved at me. I said a farewell to both of them and made my way on over to Claire's house to see how she was doing. It had been two days since the Firefly Festival, and she seemed to be fully recovered.

When I approached her house, I found her sitting on the beach near the front of her house, sketchpad resting in her lap. Her hands were gliding above the page, sketching the scene in front of her. Her hand was steady, making marks across the page of the slightly choppy waves.

She heard me come up behind her and she turned to look at me. "What's up?"

I gave a shrug. "Nothing really. Just wondering if you wanted to go to the mine with me." Her face contorted in thought for a while before she shook her head.

"Not today, sorry. I want to finish drawing this and then I am going to use watercolors to paint it."

I opened my mouth to reply, but someone called my name. Turning a bit to glance behind us, I saw Owen standing pretty far away on the path up to my house. He waved, and I waved back, yelling at him and asking what he wanted.

"The shop is closed today, so I don't have anything to do. If you're not busy, do you want to hang out a bit?"

He yelled pretty loud, his voice rang across the space quite loudly. I gave a nod, but then realized he probably couldn't see it.

"Yeah!" I yelled back.

Faintly, I could see him wave at me again. "Let's meet at Alan's Tree in an hour then!" His figure disappeared and I turned back to look at Claire, who was grinning at me and wiggling her eyebrows.

I was about to glare at her, but then I suddenly started to tremble. "Claire..." I breathed, my eyes growing wide. "Alan's Tree..." Raising an eyebrow, she stared at me in confusion. I dropped to the ground beside her and sat cross-legged, shaking my head firmly. "I can't go there. I just can't."

My best friend jabbed me in the side. "What do you mean you can't go there? Of course you can! You just told Owen that you would hang out with him there."

I clutched her arm tightly. "Claire, people usually confess their love for another person at that tree. I don't think I'm ready for that! I'm completely and totally not prepared. I...think I'm in shock. I mean, Owen and I are good friends and all, but I didn't know he had those kinds of feelings about me."

Blue eyes just as wide as mine were staring at me intensely. After a minute, Claire grabbed my arm with her free hand and gave me a slight shake. "Angela, just go. He seriously might just want to hang out. Just because you are meeting him there doesn't mean he is going to confess his love for you or anything. Even if he did, that's what you want, right?"

I blinked a few times while staring at her.


	4. Chapter 4

The red-haired man was laughing at me when I arrived because I had practically stumbled all the way up the hill. Claire had finally convinced me to keep my word and meet Owen at Alan's Tree, and by that time, it was so close to the time that I was supposed to meet him that I had to run all the way there.

He was sitting underneath the tree, leaning against it leisurely. I dropped down beside him, gulping in much needed air.

"Glad you could make it," he chuckled. I sighed, sifting my fingers through my hair. "Did you run the whole way?"

I managed to get out, "Yeah."

The two of us sat in silence for a while as I caught my breath. It was peaceful under the tree. There was a small breeze flowing, making the leaves rustle and a couple spiral down to the ground.

Owen glanced over at me. "This place is so peaceful. Sometimes I come here to think."

I gave a nod. "It really is nice here. I love this place." Resting my head back against the tree, I closed my eyes. "So, why did you invite me here?" I tried to keep my emotions under control; it didn't seem like he had asked me to come here for the same reason Toby asked Renee. Apparently he had seriously just wanted to hang out and had happened to pick this particular spot, causing me to get the wrong idea and panic. It wasn't that I didn't want Owen to love me; it was just that I wasn't sure I was ready for actual _love_. I had just gotten the hang of taking care of my crops and I still had a lot to learn about farming. I wasn't sure if I was ready to add love into the mix just yet, even though I really liked him.

"Just wanted to hang out. I have nothing to do today. I could have gone mining, but I do that almost every day. Chloe and grandpa went to town to do some shopping."

My nerves had started to act up, but after hearing that he just wanted to hang out and that was it, then I calmed down and just flat out relaxed.

"Summer is almost over," I groaned. "I like the warm weather...I don't really like the cold all that well. Only on certain days I am in the mood to be outside in the cold."

Owen agreed with me and started talking about how frigid the temperatures in the mine would be. I whined the whole time he talked about it. Eventually he started laughing at me and I snapped that it wasn't funny and that I would probably die down there from freezing to death.

Once his laughs subsided he gave a sigh and closed his eyes. He hummed a bit of a tune, my eyes scanning the sky for clouds. I spotted two birds playing up in the sky, zipping around and doing loops together.

"This place reminds me of my parents," Owen said softly. My cerulean orbs drifted to look at my companion. He had told me before that his parents died when he was young, and that was why he lived with Ramsey. He felt the need to repay Ramsey for raising him by becoming a great blacksmith. "When I was five we came to this island to visit my Ramsey. We stayed for two weeks, and my parents would come up here as much as possible. They really loved this place."

I shook my head. His expression was mostly emotionless, but it all leaked out in his words and in his eyes. "Owen, you don't have to talk about it."

The ghost of a smile came to his face. "I want to. It's been a long time since I've talked to anyone about them. Ramsey gets very glum when I mention my parents, and Chloe never knew them." He glanced at me, but then shifted his gaze to stare at the sky. "You remind me of my mom somewhat. She had hair the exact same shade as you have, and she had blue eyes just like you. I have her eyes, and I have my dad's hair. He had red hair and green eyes."

Biting my lower lip, I continued to look at him. It was strange hearing so much emotion in his voice, he was usually strong and cheerful, but I was hearing sadness and longing. I had a strong urge to take his hand, but I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. He might not like it, or he might take my comforting gesture the wrong way...

Hesitantly, I took his hand that was on my side of him and rested it between both of my hands, an obvious gesture of comfort. I'm not sure if he noticed because he didn't look over at me, but then I felt his fingers twitch ever so slightly. We sat there for a minute in silence before he started telling me stories about when he was young, and the trips he took with his parents, and how close they all were. I didn't know what time it was, but I knew we sat there for hours. Eventually, Owen and I both got tired from the peacefulness and the heat. Before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep under the tree with him.

_XxXxX_

My eyes fluttered open and I was met by darkness. With my eyes open, they eventually adjusted to the dark. I had lifted my head from Owen's shoulder because I had apparently slid over to lean against him when I fell asleep. His head had been resting on mine, so when I moved my head, he started to stir. I took back both of my hands that had still been holding his and started to stretch and yawn. I couldn't believe we had actually fallen asleep under the tree and hadn't woken up for hours.

Something at my side caught the corner of my eye and I nearly squeaking in surprise, but then I realized it was only a rabbit. There was a white rabbit up here a lot, hopping around all day. It was tame enough that you could approach it and pet it. Obviously it had decided to sleep at my side. I giggled, covering my mouth with one hand. It was adorable, and I wanted to take it home with me. I knew it didn't like me enough, though. Maybe one day I could get the rabbit to like me enough that it would let me pick it up and carry it home with me.

"Do you know what time it is?" Owen asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. I replied with a negative and he gave a sigh. "It was just so warm and peaceful that we fell asleep, I guess." Both of us let out a few laughs. The man stood up and reached a hand out toward me. After taking it, he helped me up and let go. "I suppose we should both get home. Do you want me to walk you home?"

I waved my hand repeatedly in dismissal. "Oh, well...I'm sure I can get home fine by myself..."

"Let me walk you home."

I shrugged and the two of us began making our way toward my house. The light from the moon spilled over the paths on the island, so it wasn't too difficult to see where we were going. Owen was talking about the stars and I was listening quietly, making small comments every now and again. Finally, we arrived at my house. There was a light on inside, which sparked my interest. Either I had left the light on or someone was inside.

As I turned the doorknob, Owen said, "Thanks for hanging out with me today. Thanks for listening."

"Anytime Owen. Take care, and good night."

As soon as I disappeared inside and shut the door behind me, I whipped around to find Claire sprawled out across my bed. She had been waiting for me to come home was my guess, but she had ended up falling asleep while doing so. I sat down carefully on the edge of my bed and stared at her, wondering if she would feel the movement and wake up. My friend remained sleeping, so I laid back, avoiding coming in contact with her, and closed my eyes. It was only when I was nearly in a slumber that she woke up and started probing me for details.

"What happened? What did he say? Why did you come home so late?"

Groaning, I rolled onto my opposite side so that I was facing away from her. Sleep was still not too far away. Claire poked me in the side, then leaned against me forcefully, attempting to rouse me from my tired state. It worked.

"Claire!" I snapped, sitting up. Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and looked at her with heavy eyelids. "He just wanted to hang out. We accidentally fell asleep under the tree." She sighed, seeming somewhat disappointed that my words hadn't been all that interesting. "I'm going to sleep now; I have to wake up early." When I slammed my head down onto my pillow, Claire got up and turned the light off. It was too late to go back to her own house, so my friend laid back down on the bed with me.

_XxXxX_

The next morning when I was watering my crops, Claire emerged from my house, having just woken up.

"Can I help?" she asked peppily, coming to a stop at my side.

Glancing at her, I shook my head, saying, "No, I don't need help with this. Not today."

The answer made her start to pout. She plopped down on the ground at the edge of the field and produced a very small sketchpad from her pocket. By the time I was done watering the crops she had drawn a numerous amount of small pandas and was working on bamboo when I went over and leaned down, peering at the drawings thoughtfully. She had always been good at drawing when we were teenagers, and I had always loved to look at her art. She had always been self-conscious about it, and probably still was somewhat. I was delighted that she had decided to be an artist, though, and sell her work.

When she finished drawing the panda's food, she stood up and brushing some dirt off of herself. After a second of thought, a sly smile spread across her face. "Want to go into town?"

"Why?" I inquired, placing my hands on my hips.

Her slyness suddenly turned to innocence, and she swayed back and forth with her hands clasped behind her back. I knew exactly why she wanted to go to town, and I was willing to go with her. She wanted to see Jin, of course.

Rolling my eyes, I spun on my heel and started taking the path that led to Waffle Town with Claire trailing at my heels. She followed me all the way into the clinic, where Irene smiled weakly at us from behind the counter. Jin was in the examination room, probably looking at paperwork.

Leaning a bit on the counter, I smiled at the old woman. "I just came to buy some medicine. I'm afraid I'm going to get a cold, so just to be safe, I think I'll take some cold medicine." After nodding firmly, Irene reached into the drawer on her side of the counter and retrieved the medicine I had asked for. As I was paying, I glanced at my blonde friend, who was standing behind me a ways. Her arms were crossed, and she was surveying the room. After thanking Irene, I went back to see Jin for a second. Claire gladly tagged along, biting her lower lip to keep from giggling when she saw the man.

The black-haired man was sitting and scanning some paperwork, just as I had thought he would be doing. When he noticed us, he smiled and looked up. "Ladies, how are you doing?"

Both Claire and I replied in a positive way, causing Jin's smile to grow wider. Politely, I asking him about his work, and he gave a sigh. Shutting the folder, he tossed the paperwork onto the desk in front of him and rested his hands behind his head.

"Difficult. There has been so much to do lately that it's overwhelming." He gave a shrug. "I suppose that is what happens when you are a doctor. I have been wanting some part-time help around the clinic, though, but no one seems to have enough time."

At that point, I could almost feel the excitement radiating off of Claire. "Well, I'm not all that busy. I could help you part-time."

Jin sat forward, his hands falling to rest on his lap. A smile was plastered across his face, and his eyes were sparkling in delight. "Really? You don't mind?" Claire shook her head, returning the smile, a bit shyly.

It was great that my friend now had a part-time job, especially one that allowed her to spend time with her crush.

The doctor instructed her on when she could start, what hours she would be working, how much money she would make, and all that. Claire would be waking up early tomorrow and going to work while I tended to my crops.

I waited patiently until Jin was done discussing the job with her. Afterwards, Claire and I exited the clinic. She tackled me in a hug and giggled as soon as we were outside. She was ecstatic about the job and she rattled on and on about it all the way to the mine. Even as we passed Owen and Chloe she continued to talk about it. It was only when we had gone down the first set of stairs that she noticed where we were.

"Uh..." Glancing around, she backtracked onto the stairs and sat down as I started to smash rocks and collect ores. "You really have no life. You need a job."

I glanced at her and rolled my eyes. "I _have_ a job. I'm a farmer."

She perched her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her hands. "You suck at being a farmer. You don't even have any animals, and you only water about two plants."

Defensively, I shot back, "Twelve."

"You used to want to be an author or a pharmacist, and have a husband and five million kids."

"_Children._ Kids are baby goats."

An irritated sigh left her mouth. "Whatever, you know what I mean. What changed your mind?"

Slinging the hammer to rest against my shoulder, I faced her and gave a small smile. "First of all, I only wanted two or three children. I still want a husband and children, but that will come to me naturally on its own. I'll find someone...sometime. As for my career dreams...they all crumbled when I saw a brochure for this island. The farm life sounded interesting, especially to someone who always lived in the city. So far, I am really enjoying it. I can't wait to get animals. I just need more money before I can get a coop and barn built. It's a lot of work, but it's work that I like."

Claire nodded and sighed. "I want a husband, too. Maybe my job will make him reali-"

I hushed my best friend. "We're only on the second floor. Owen and Chloe can hear everything we say."

Her eyes widened slightly and she turned a light shade of pink. I knew she was wondering if either of them had caught onto what she was saying, or about to say. Even if they had heard what she had been saying and got the gist of it, they wouldn't admit it.

Slowly, I went and pushed past Mia, poking my head out of the opening in the first floor of the mine. Chloe had been staring at the opening and whipped around when she saw half of my head emerge from the opening. My crush hadn't been facing the opening, but he turned and gazed at me for a second before grinning and walking over.

"Hey Angela." Owen reached into his back pocket and pulled something out, but kept it out of my view for a minute. "I found this in the mine the day before yesterday. I thought you should have it as thanks for hanging out with me yesterday. I don't have a lot of friends, so I really appreciate you spending time with me and everything." An aquamarine gem was shifted so that it was being held out toward me.

My mouth dropped open slowly. "Owen, that gem is rare and sells for a lot of money!" I exclaimed in a slightly scolding tone.

His facial expression was a determined one. "I want you to have it."

I sighed, knowing there was no reasoning with him. It was really nice of him to give me such an item. After taking it, I observed it with a smile. "It's my favorite color." My eyes darted to look at him for a moment. "Thank you very much. I love it."

I slipped it into my rucksack and shifted the hammer that was still rested against my shoulder. After flashing him a smile, I waved and ran back down to the second floor of the mine, avoiding Claire, who was still sitting on the steps.

She raised an eyebrow and grinned. I rolled my eyes and whispered, "Chloe might have heard, but I don't think Owen did. Either way, they never gossip about anything."

"Your face is really red," she commented, completely ignoring my words. The volume of her voice had been very soft, so I knew the two people up on the first floor couldn't have heard. I still glared at her and told her to shut up.


	5. Chapter 5

Fall came and a week of it went by. I had planted a lot more crops than I had in the summer, so watering them took me quite a bit more time, and used up a lot more energy than before. I knew it would be worth it at the end of the month, though. I would have a lot more money, and some more food in the refrigerator for winter.

Everyone had changed into warmer outfits because the air had gained a chill to it. I was almost the only one on the whole island that didn't start to wear warmer clothes. I had earned a lot of money at the end of summer from harvesting the last of my crops and mining, but I then spent all that profit on new furniture for my house.

Claire had been at her part-time job for a while and absolutely loved it. Some days she helped Jin out a lot around the clinic, and other days, she didn't have much to do. Even though she didn't have much work some days, she claimed she still got to stare at Jin quite a bit, so that made it so much better. I had just laughed at her. I hadn't been to visit her or Jin at the clinic since the beginning of fall because I had been so busy, but today I was planning on stopping by to see them. The way Claire talked about him made it sound like they were friends now, but I couldn't be sure until I saw how they interacted with one another.

Irene was the only person I saw when I entered the clinic. Upon seeing me, she gave a small smile and pointed into the examination room to indicate where Claire was. I made my way into the examination room to find Jin sitting at his desk and observing some papers. Claire was standing behind the chair with her hands on the back of it, leaning down and peering over his shoulder. I had never seen someone be so close to him, except for when he was performing medical procedures. His form was relaxed even with her so close; it was apparent that he felt comfortable around her.

"Those sound like symptoms of asthma," Claire stated, reaching over him and running her finger under a few words. "We should ask her to come in and run a few tests on her. If we don't find out about this, and she does have asthma, then she could have an asthma attack at any time and not know what is happening or how to deal with it."

The black-haired man nodded and closed the folder he had been holding open. "You're right. In about an hour would you go and ask Barbara if she would come and see me? Right now it's about time for lunch."

When Claire turned around, she saw me and smiled warmly, greeting me. Jin also turned to look at me with a small smile.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he commented. "It's good that you're finally taking care of yourself."

As Claire passed me, she slowed down and rested a hand on my arm lightly. "We are going to eat our lunches now, but you can stay and talk with us." The woman disappeared, probably going to retrieve the lunches.

I raised an eyebrow at Jin when she wasn't in the room, and he raised an eyebrow back in question. "Is she doing good at this job?"

Jin nodded firmly. "She's doing really well. She knows about most basic medical knowledge, so she can help me observe some profiles. At all her tasks, she completes the task quickly and well. I'm glad you two decided to visit, or else I might not have any help right now. Work is definitely less overwhelming for me and I don't have to work extra hours now."

Claire came back in with two lunches and handed one to Jin before going to sit in a chair across the room to eat. Crossing her legs, she started to pick at her food. After putting some food in her mouth, she glanced at me.

"How's work on the farm going?"

I scratched the back of my head and sighed before saying, "Good, I guess. It's a lot more work than it was before, but I know it's just going to get harder." Giving an airy laugh, I continued to scratch the back of my head. "After I earn enough money I am going to build a chicken coop."

Blue eyes rolled after I said that. "That's what you said before, and instead of building a coop you spent all your money on furniture."

The doctor shook his head, sighing. He swallowed his food and tilted his head down to peer at me over the rim of his glasses. "You could have at least bought warmer clothes. You're going to catch a cold." My best friend was nodding in agreement as she placed some food in her mouth.

Shifting my feet, I crossed my arms. I should have known I was going to get lectured about not having on warmer clothes. "Well, since I've stopped by long enough to see both of you, I guess I am going to go. I need to go get some lunch then start earning some more money somehow."

Both of them started to tell me not to work too hard, following by a farewell from each of them as they finished their lunches. It seemed like they really were pretty good friends, just as Claire had said. It didn't seem like Jin had any romantic feelings for her, at least...not yet. I could be mistaken, though, because he really isn't the kind to let his personal feelings show.

On my way to the Inn, I hadn't been paying attention. I was in a daze, thinking about what I was going to do after lunch. This state made me run straight into Gill, who had been crossing the path to get over to his house.

I bit back a rude remark and apologized quickly. Gill was smoothing out his shirt, giving a mean look all the while.

"You should watch where you're going," he said dryly. "You're always in some sort of daze. Snap out of it and face reality once in a while."

I just pursed my lips together tightly and tilted my head up a bit, showing I wasn't scared of him. Seconds later, Gill stumbled to the side when someone else ran into him.

Ramsey froze, looking quite startled. "Oh, Gill, I didn't see you there." The old man shook his head. "You shouldn't stand in the middle of the path like that. It blocks people's way."

It was only a matter of seconds before Gill started grumbling under his breath and stormed off. Ramsey started chuckling lightly as we watched the young man's form disappear into his home. I glanced at Ramsey and he smirked at me.

"You do a lot more for this island than he does. I don't think he has the right to treat you as being inferior."

A smile spread across my face. "That's just the way Gill is," I sighed. "Thank you, though."

He gave a nod and gestured toward the Inn. Apparently he had been headed to the same place for some lunch. My smile grew, and I trailed behind the balding man into the Inn to have some lunch.

_XxXxX_

It had been quite some time that I had been listening to the waves crashing into the steep side of the island. The tree that I was sitting under was providing a good amount of shade, blocking out the bright sun. I was under Daren's tree near Town Hall, waiting for Claire to meet me there. It had been an hour since the time we were supposed to meet there, and I was starting to wonder if she had forgot about our meeting.

Footsteps and panting met my ears after a couple of minutes. Without having to look to see who my visitor was, I stood up and brushed some dirt off my clothes, turning to face the person who I knew was my best friend.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized, bending over and resting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath. "I got off of work late."

I told her it was fine, then pulled out all the items I had collected. Raising a dark eyebrow at her, I asked, "Did you bring what you retrieved for this?"

She nodded. After completely catching her breath, she rummaged through a backpack slung over her shoulder and got out good herb fish and an apple. When she handed them both to me, I watered the green flower under the tree and Daren appeared, whining about being drenched with water.

Once his whining had ceased, I held out all the food items he had listed for me to bring to him for the recipe to create the rainbow. The small green sprite was ecstatic; he jumped around and sang happily. Claire and I stared at him with annoyed expressions until he stopped and laughed nervously. Soon enough, he was mixing the ingredients together by singing a very irritating song. Claire eventually covered her ears, and I just managed to listen and cringe the whole time.

With a burst of light at the end of his song, a colorful stream was permanently in the sky right near the tree.

"It leads to East Gull Island, you can walk across it. Also, the ocean should now be calm, and the wind should start making the windmills work again." Daren spun around with joy. "Thank you Angela and Claire! You two did great! There are other rainbows to make, and I know you two can help! Good luck!"

With that, Daren waved and slowly morphed back into a flower. There were so many questions left unanswered. Was it really possible to walk over the rainbow? Which fairy did I talk to next? Where would I find that specific one?

Turning to Claire, I shrugged. "I'm not sure what we're supposed to do next." Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought for a moment, and I added, "I don't know which sprite we should see next, or where the sprite would be at."

Patting my arm lightly, she murmured, "We'll figure it out, Angela. Don't worry."

_XxXxX _

I scampered across the first floor of the mine, my eyes locked on the opening to the stairs. Claire's birthday was coming up in two days and I wanted to find a gem to make her a necklace. I was torn between finding a ruby, emerald, or amethyst gem for her necklace.

Small arms wrapped around my waist and I froze. My blue eyes shifted down to see Chloe hugging me.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she chimed, giggling and staring up at me with round eyes. "Owen is being mean and won't play hide-and-seek with me. Will you play with me?"

I bit my bottom lip and thought for a moment. A smile soon spread across my face and I opened my eyes wide in mock shock. "Owen won't play _hide-and-seek_?" Turning slightly with Chloe still attached to me, I stared at Owen and shook my head. "I can't believe he won't play that game with you. That _has_ to be the best game in the world." I could feel the little girl giggling, and I turned to look down at her once again. "I will play hide-and-seek with you, but I need to do something else real quick first, okay?"

After nodding, her arms released me and I clasped my hands behind my back and bounced over to where Owen was standing. By the way I was standing, and looking at him, he immediately knew that I was going to ask for something.

"What?" he sighed.

I smiled sweetly. "I'm going to play hide-and-seek with your cousin since you won't." Swaying back and forth, I gazed up at him and he raised an eyebrow. "Claire's birthday is in two days and I decided that I want to make a necklace for her with a ruby. Since I'm going to play with Chloe instead of search for a ruby, do you think you could find one for me? Please?" He sighed once again and told me that he would. "You're so sweet, you know that? I'll buy you a drink at the bar some night to pay you back, okay?"

Giggling, Chloe grabbed my hand and drug me outside and told me the boundaries of where we would be hiding and seeking. She was going to seek first, so once she started counting, I ran over to the nearest shipping bin and climbed inside. Hopefully she would find me before someone collected all the items that needed to be shipped.

I don't know how long I was inside the shipping bin, but at some point I felt something crawling on my arm. Biting my bottom lip, I tried not to shriek. For a moment, I thought maybe it was just my imagination. Then, I felt it again.

Reaching up with my other arm, I lifted the lid on the bin just enough to let a slant of light inside. That was when I discovered the huge spider resting on my arm.

At first, the reality of the arachnid actually being on my arm hadn't hit me. Then, suddenly, I let out a shrill scream. I flung my arm outside of the bin so hard that the spider flew off of it and into the middle of the path.

Hurriedly, I climbed out of the bin and started to shake my whole body to try and get any other ones off that could have been on me. I then placed my hands in my hair and started ruffling my hair frantically in case any spiders had crawled into it. After all of those actions, I determined that I was fine.

Apparently I had an audience. Craig, the owner of Soufflé Farm, and his daughter Anissa, had been walking down the path. Both were frozen, staring at me like I was out of my mind.

"Have you turned crazy, wimp?" Craig asked a bit awkwardly. He was always calling me names.

I laughed a little. "I was hiding in the shipping bin and found a spider on me. I guess I just freaked out."

The story obviously wasn't interesting enough because the two shook their heads and continued on their journey down the path. No one else seemed to be around, so I shrugged and slouched down against a nearby tree. I had no idea where Chloe was at searching for me.

Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the heat from the sun caressing my skin. It was fall, and it wasn't very hot outside. The temperature was actually a bit chilly, so I liked the feel of the sun's rays.

When my eyes finally fluttered open, Owen was kneeling down to my level in front of me and staring silently. I let out a squeal and jumped a bit, causing him to laugh heartily. There was no doubt a blush was coloring my face at that point.

"I didn't even hear you come over here."

He nodded. "Yeah, I realize that. I was waiting to see how long it took you to notice." Sighing, he shook his head. "Your hair is quite a sight to see, and your clothes are askew. I almost don't want to ask what happened." I gave him the most menacing glare I could, and I could feel my face burning.

"For your information, I was hiding in the shipping bin and a spider happened to crawl on me. I freaked out and had to make sure there were no more on me." I crossed my arms.

The man in front of me was laughing. "Anyways, I got the ruby for you. I went ahead and just got the necklace made already so you didn't have to."

My head lolled from side to side and I rolled my eyes. "Now I have to buy you as many drinks as that necklace costed. You'll pass out before we leave the bar."

Owen rolled his eyes. "I don't drink that much. I only have one drink every time I go there. You're the one that needs to cut back on the alcohol intake."

I reached out for him, and one of his strong hands shot out to grip mine, and he pulled me up off the ground. Laughing airily, I said, "Whatever. I don't even drink. Now you're just making stuff up."

An orangish-red bobbing motion caught my eye, and I looked over toward the path the led to the Maple Lake District. Chloe was walking on it, planning to come this way. I had to think of a plan, and I had to think of it quick.

I gave Owen a rushed look then turned and climbed up into the tree behind me. As I peered through the leaves, I could see a blonde-haired woman following her. Great, Claire was looking for me, too. Maybe not for the same reason, but her reason may have to have me come out of hiding.

My eyes shifted from the two people looking for me, to Owen, who was straightening himself up and crossing his arms, waiting for them.

"I can't find her anywhere!" Chloe called to him, waving. "Do you know where she is?"

I knew Owen hated lying, so he just said, "I'm sure she's around here somewhere." The two people soon arrived in front of him, Claire smiling weakly. Owen greeted her with a smile. "Are you looking for Angela, too?"

Claire gave a soft nod. "Yeah, Jin gave me the rest of the day off of work. I wanted to hang out with Angela. It seems like we haven't gotten to spend much time together lately."

I shifted slightly in the tree. My eyes widened when the branch I was sitting on made a cracking noise. All three of them glanced up, spotting me. Chloe started beaming, but Owen and Claire were more concerned about the branch actually breaking. I was pretty high up in the tree, so I could possibly get hurt pretty bad from the fall.

When the branch snapped off, I started screaming. A blush was already spreading across my face because I knew what was going to happen. Owen caught me in his arms, staring down at me in slight shock. His expression caused me to start laughing, and I could feel my face growing hotter by the second. Claire was staring at us with wide eyes, but a small smirk was on her face.

"Thanks for catching me," I said quickly, fidgeting until he finally set me down on the ground. "I guess that wasn't the best place to hide." Patting Chloe on the head, I said, "You win. Good job finding me." After that, I grabbed Claire's wrist and started dragging her away, pretty embarrassed about what had just happened. "I will meet you at the bar tonight, Owen. Please bring what you found in the mine for me."

As we got further away, Claire started cracking up. I shot her a few glares as we continued walking into town.

"You should have seen your expression!" She continued to laugh as we trudged onward. "And apparently you have a hot date tonight at the bar!" Leaning toward me a bit, she quirked an eyebrow. "Is it starting to get serious? Oh, and I also want to ask you how your hair and clothes got so messed up..."

I stopped walking, and Claire turned, looking at me questioningly. Crossing my arms, I said, "If you're going to tease me so much, then I'm not going to tell you how I got to appear so disheveled."

The next second, Claire was actually clawing at my arm. "Did something seriously happen?"

I grinned. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'll keep you guessing."

Dropping her hands from my arm, she shrugged as if it was nothing. She turned and started walking back in the direction we had come from. "I'll just go ask Owen then...he'll tell me the truth, most likely."

That made me start to panic. "Nothing happened!" I blurted out. It would have been embarrassing for Claire to ask Owen if something had happened between us. "I swear it. There was a spider..." That's all I needed to say. Claire knew the rest of what had happened because it had happened to her before too.

We walked in silence into Waffle Town, and I didn't know where we were going or why. When I questioned Claire about it, she admitted that she also had no idea. After that, we stopped and started planning on how we wanted to spend our time together.


	6. Chapter 6

Claire had conned me into walking around the entire island and showing her all the wild animals. I hadn't wanted to, seeing as the animals were a bit standoffish. The dogs were the friendliest even though I still hadn't befriended them at all. When we had seen the cats, Claire had gone for one, wanting to hold it. A fierce hiss was the response she received from both of the cats when she tried to pick it up, so she had backed away.

As we were walking back to my farm after our hunt for all the animals, I stated, "I think there is a panda on Toucan Island. Selena was telling me about it once."

Her blue eyes lit up and she stopped abruptly, clasping her hands together. "Oh, can we please go see the panda?" When I shook my head, her expression became pleading. "Pandas are so adorable, though. Please, can't we go see the panda?"

If there were another reason for going over to the island, and not just to see a panda and then leave, I might have agreed. Once again, I shook my head and hurried into my house, Claire right at my heels.

Her expression had dimmed, and the excitement was slowly draining away. I hated seeing her that way, but I seriously didn't want to waste my time to go see a dumb panda. There was more important business I had to take care of, such as earning money to pay for food and all my other necessities. It was true that I _had_ been playing hide-and-seek earlier with Chloe. That thought made me feel like a real bad friend, so I turned to Claire, an apologetic smile creeping onto my face.

"Okay, let's go to Toucan Island and see the panda."

For a second, she stood there with her mouth hanging open. I had apparently cut her off from saying something, and her eyebrows were raised a bit. "Umm...are you serious?"

A stiff nod was the response I gave to that. Only a minute later, Claire was bouncing down the path toward town, and I was slinking behind with my lips pursed together. By agreeing to go with her to see the panda, it made me feel better.

Once we got into town, Claire wasn't exactly sure where we were supposed to go, so she let me lead the way. She continued to bounce alongside me as we entered the bait shop On The Hook. Ozzie and Pascal both looked at us as we entered, and the shop owner offered a smile.

"Ah, Angela and Claire. Planning on going fishing?"

I gave a small laugh and shook my head. "No, but that sounds like fun." Turning slightly, my eyes shifted to look at Pascal. "We actually came here to see if we could possibly go to Toucan Island."

The older man that was cleaning a smoking pipe hummed a soft noise before saying, "Well, I suppose I could take you two over there."

Claire was ecstatic, but I was indifferent. Soon enough, we were on a large boat and on our way to the island. My best friend was holding onto the railing of the ship, smiling as the wind whipped her hair around. I, on the other hand, was lying down with my eyes closed. It was normal for me to get seasick on boats. My traveling companion didn't even seem to notice my sickly state.

A black cat greeted us when we got off the ship. Claire went to pick it up, but it was skittish, so it ran off. That whole ordeal did not dampen my friend's spirit at all, though.

"Where's the panda?" Claire asked, her eyes darting around the beach. After looking around a bit, her enthusiasm was starting to drain away. "There's no panda here."

"Well, it's got to be somewhere around here. It's an _island_, there is no possible place the panda could have gone."

Claire's hopes were spiraling downward quickly, and I could tell. That, and the fact that I didn't want to be on the island for no purpose, drove me to search even more. If we had come to see the panda, then we were going to see it.

Overlooking the lodge, we continued our search. I even climbed a tree to get a better view of the land.

"What are you doing?"

The unfamiliar voice startled me from my position in the tree and I clutched onto a branch tightly to keep from falling for a second time that day. My eyes landed on a dark-haired woman standing under the tree with her hands on her hips. Her tan face was angled up at me, her eyes questioning.

After blinking a few times, I said, "I'm looking for a panda."

Motioning me down, she started to laugh lightly. "I will show you where the panda usually is."

Claire had only been a few feet away, so she had heard the woman. Once my feet were on the ground, the stranger led us up a narrow path, weaving around trees and an abundance of foliage.

"By the way, I am Sue. My husband, Samson, and I run the lodge of this island."

"I'm Angela, a farmer on Waffle Island. This is Claire, she's my best friend and she lives there, too. She works part-time at the Clinic, and she's an artist."

Sue turned her head, glancing back at us as we continued to follow her. "Selena is my daughter. I suppose you know her."

The dancer. Of course I knew her...she was a bit rude, but also very cheery at times. When I replied that I did, the dark-haired female merely nodded, letting silence fall between us.

It was a good minute or two before she stopped, parting some of a large flimsy plant. A panda emerged, staring at Claire and I with dark round eyes.

Immediately, Claire's face lit up. "It's so adorable!" she cooed, gliding over to it. When she reached down to pet it, the panda remained there instead of running off like the cats had. She was in a trance as soon as her hand came in contact with the black and white fur.

Sue stood off to the side, beaming at the sight. It also made me smile, seeing my best friend so happy. Earlier I hadn't wanted to come to the island, but now I was glad I had agreed to.

After a while, I walked over and started to pet the panda with Claire. Together, we giggled, stroking the animal. Finally, both of us stood up, the panda wandering back into the plant. Sue was still smiling.

"Well, I am glad I could help out."

I nodded, Claire doing the same, and replying, "Yes, thank you very much."

With a sigh, the woman looked up through the leaves on the trees. "It's late; you two should go home. Unless you want to stay at the lodge for the night." Those words made me realize how dark it had gotten and I started to tug on Claire's arm frantically, staring at her with wide eyes.

"I have to get to the bar!"

With a wave to Sue, we were off, running toward the dock. It was a bit difficult to dodge all the trees and large plants with it being fairly dark, but the two of us managed to find the dock without too much trouble. I had only run into two trees, and Claire had only tripped over one plant.

Pascal was standing on the wooden boards, waiting patiently for us to arrive. When he saw our apparent rushing, he didn't waste time getting the boat departed.

When I laid down on the boat this time, Claire sat down beside me and started rambling about the panda we had encountered. I just knew there would be many more trips to Toucan Island with her just to see the panda. Next time we hopefully wouldn't be rushed, and we could maybe spend the night on that island and have a night to ourselves with gossiping and giggling and heartfelt conversations like we used to have when we lived back in the city. Those were the nights I missed most after moving to Waffle Island, and even after Claire had arrived and started living on the same island, we hadn't gotten the chance to do such a thing. It seemed like the adult life took so much away from you, yet I knew it gave so much in return.

It was nearly ten when we got to Waffle Island. Claire kept asking if she could accompany me to the bar. I kept saying she couldn't and never gave her a good enough reason as to why. Eventually, as I was sprinting up the dock, I called, "I just want some time alone with Owen!" I knew she would understand that, at least, I _hoped_ she would. She had always been very understanding of my feelings, and I assumed she knew that if she wanted to spend time alone with Jin that I would obviously let her.

_XxXxX_

By the time I reached the Inn, I was panting and tired. A drink would be nice after all that running. I was a farmer and I had muscles, but it didn't mean I was used to running like that. As I bent, resting my hands on my knees and trying to catch my breath, my eyes caught Owen standing up near the path that led to the Caramel River District.

"O-Owen..." I managed to say loud enough for him to hear. Turning, he smiled at me, his eyebrows furrowed a bit. Without hesitation, he trotted over to me.

"I thought you weren't going to make it, but I stood outside here just a little longer just in case."

After gulping in more air and swallowing a few times to moisten my dry throat, I straightened up and sighed. "Well, Claire wanted to go see a panda on Toucan Island. By the time we found the panda and petted it, it was dark outside. I hadn't even really realized how late it was getting. We just got back, and obviously, I ran all the way here. I'm sorry."

He shook his head full of dark red hair. "Angela, don't worry about it. I understand." Jerking his head toward the Inn, he said, "Come on."

Together, we entered the Inn. The usual people were inside: Jake, Colleen, Maya, Kathy, Hayden, Selena, and the mayor. Whenever I stopped by later in the evening all of them were there, some having a drink, and some just lounging in the small lobby. Sometimes I would get a part-time job at the bar to earn some money, but that was usually only when I wasn't exhausted from farming and mining.

I was led over to the bar, and we both took a seat at the counter. Hayden casted us a smile, asking what we wanted to drink and who was buying.

I glanced at Owen, and before I could speak, he said to the man, "I'm buying."

My head whipped in his direction, a glare set on my face. What was he doing? He was my friend and all, but he had paid for the necklace and then wasn't letting me pay him back somehow. Apparently he had known he was going to get some sort of reaction from me because he only smirked when I glared at him.

With a sickly sweet smile, I turned my attention to Hayden. "We would both like a rice cocktail. _I am buying._" Normally I wouldn't order for someone else, but I knew that Owen always got the same drink when he came to the bar. He had visited enough times when I was working there for me to realize that he really liked rice cocktails.

As we were waiting for our drinks, Owen reached into his pocket and retrieved the necklace I had wanted for Claire. With a now soft smile, I took it into my hands and slipped it into my rucksack. It was beautiful, and I just knew that my best friend would like it. "Thank you." Pursing my lips together for a second, I gave him a strange look. "I still can't believe you got that necklace made for me."

Shaking his head, he let out an airy laugh. His eyes darted off to the side for a second before resting back on me. "Hey, friends do favors for friends." This was true. Such huge favors, though? I wasn't sure. "Mira gave me a discount anyways. It wasn't all that much." That made me feel a bit better.

Hayden sat our glasses down in front of us, my focus slipping over to the drink instead of dwelling on what Owen had done. The alcohol burnt my dry throat when I first took a drink, causing me to cringe.

I could hear the man beside me snickering. "Don't drink much?"

Heaving a sigh, I shrugged. "Not really. I like how the alcohol loosens you up, but I don't necessarily enjoy the taste of it. I also don't enjoy getting drunk. You'll wake up the next morning beside someone you don't know."

That got a short laugh out of him, but he replied lightly, "I don't think you have to worry about that on this island. Everyone knows everyone." His grin beamed in my direction, and I couldn't help but laugh a little, rolling my eyes.

I then made a face. "Well, it might creep me out even more if it was someone I knew." Smiling, I shook my head before raising the glass to my lips again.

The two of us sat there and talked for a few hours. As a side distraction, we had continued drinking. Owen stopped after about three, but I had a few more than that. Both of us held alcohol well, so he seemed pretty sober. I, on the other hand, was behaving pretty strangely, and he would keep laughing at my drunkenness because I was loopy. Eventually, Hayden told us they were closing, so Owen and I made our way outside. He held the door open for me and I managed to get outside, but with some difficulty.

My companion was staring at me with a raised eyebrow as he shut the door. "So much for not liking getting drunk," he said, shaking his head.

My blue eyes narrowed, a grin playing across my face. "I don't." I had said so few words that my speech hadn't been messed up, but I hiccupped after I said that.

Which direction home was, was unknown to me. My mind was extremely fuzzy and slow. I was surprised I was even standing without falling over. Owen must have realized I was incapable of doing practically anything because he took my arm and started to guide me along the dark paths. Neither of us spoke a word because he knew that I wouldn't be able to carry on any type of good conversation, and I was so heavy-lidded that I was practically falling asleep as I walked.

When we reached my house, Owen reached out in front of me and pushed the door open. With his hand on the middle of my back, he guided me to the doorway because I wasn't even capable of doing that.

"Are you going to be okay getting to the bed yourself?" he asked, slightly embarrassed at such a question, even though it was meant innocently.

I gave a liquidy hand movement and laughed loudly, clutching the door frame as if my life depended on it. Hiccupping as I spoke, I replied with a goofy smile, "Nice try." After that, I closed my eyes, and that was all I remember.

_XxXxX_

The next morning was not so pleasant. I woke up with a major headache, my head feeling like it was about to explode. As soon as my blue eyes snapped open another pair of the same color was glaring down at me intensely.

Letting out a small squeak of surprise, I tugged the covers over my head. Claire had startled me, and plus, she looked very angry with me for some reason.

Pale fingers curled around the edge of the covers and she then yanked them off of me. "Guess who got woken up in the middle of the night?" When I didn't answer, she just kept going on. "Me. Owen apparently caught you before you hit the floor and cracked your head open and then put you on the bed. I'm glad he had enough sense to come over and get me to take care of you, but I don't like that you got so drunk that you passed out."

Biting my bottom lip, I nodded. I really didn't even like getting drunk; I hadn't even been paying much attention to how much I was drinking at the bar with my crush the night before.

"I'm sorry..."

Giving a sigh, the woman standing in the room crossed her arms and shook her head. Her blue orbs flickered off to the side for just a second before coming back to rest on my face. "Just don't do it again. So much can go wrong when you drink too much. I don't want anything bad happening to you."

I understood where she was coming from. If Claire had gotten really drunk I probably wouldn't be too pleased either. When I nodded stiffly, she reached out and gave my shoulder an affectionate pat before jumping onto the bed beside me and starting to poke me excessively.

Between laughs, I managed to tell her to stop. From thrashing around the bed as I was, my stomach started to get upset. It must have been noticeable when I started to feel queasy because Claire stopped poking me and shot up off the bed in case I started throwing up.

As my hands moved to clutch my stomach and I groaned in pain, there was a knock at the door. Glancing between me and the door with a concerned expression, Claire finally made her way over to the door and opened it to reveal the man she knew the best on Waffle Island, white lab coat and all.

I knew she was probably giving him a quizzical look, and he stood there looking slightly embarrassed. "I was just wondering why you didn't come to work today. Is everything okay?" Jin was coming to check up on someone? That was odd. He never went to people's houses to check up on someone; he always would stay at the clinic and let the people come to him. I had often teased him about how he should check up on everyone in town and annoy them to no end, but he had said something back about not doing home healthcare.

"Well..." Claire hummed. "Angela went to the bar with Owen last night."

The black-haired man obviously didn't know what to think about that by how his face contorted into some unknown expression. "Did she get drunk? Is she alright?"

Throwing a glance back in my direction, Claire gave a nod before turning back to her employer. "Yes, she got drunk and passed out last night. Owen woke me up and asked if I could take care of her since he wasn't in the best condition himself." The unreadable expression on Jin's face soon turned into a serious and disapproving one. Claire held up a hand, waving it around a bit in dismissal. "I've already lectured her about it, so there is no need to say anything about it. She gets the point. Besides, she is paying the price for drinking too much."

When she stepped aside, the view of me clutching my stomach tightly was pretty clear to the man. He gave me a quick glance in the eyes then sighed and shook his head.

After a moment, my friend turned to stare at him again. "And I told you that I was taking the day off today yesterday. Did you forget?"

With a soft chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck, the doctor replied, "I suppose so."

I wasn't sure what to think. Did he really forget, or was that just an excuse to see Claire? I couldn't decipher his feelings for her exactly...


	7. Chapter 7

The day of Claire's birthday I woke up early and made my way to the clinic. I was guessing she was even going to work on her birthday, thinking that seeing Jin on such a day was a treat. She had become very fond of the man. The two were good friends, but nothing more. She claimed that he didn't really seem like he liked her as more than a friend, but I wasn't sure whether she was right or not.

The door wasn't even unlocked when I arrived at the clinic. I banged on the door until Jin opened it, looking quite irritated from the obnoxious knocking.

"Is there an emergency, or are you purposely annoying me before I even start work?" Jin asked, giving a sigh and stepping aside so that I could enter the building.

With a grin playing across my face, I said, "The second one." That earned me a shake of the head and a weak smile, followed by raised eyebrows. "Today is Claire's birthday and I wanted to come here to surprise her." After saying that, I reached into my rucksack and drew out the necklace that I had decided to get her for the occasion. Dangling it in the air for the man to see, I said in a light voice, "You like?"

Observing the item for a second, Jin nodded. "Well, I'm not really all that into jewelry...but I'm sure she will like it." He looked a bit troubled for a moment, pushing his glasses up when he glanced off to the side with his dark eyes. "I just got her an art kit. Do you think...do you think that is a good enough present?"

Waving my hand in dismissal, I said, "Of course. Just receiving a present will mean enough to her. That was thoughtful of you, Jin." His actions were something a friend would do, but the fact that he had wondered about the gift being good enough was what I thought was hinting a bit beyond friendship. I couldn't be sure, though. "Are you two close friends?" I couldn't help but ask. If Claire had been there with us, she probably would have been mortified by my question.

As I had been wondering about his friendly actions, the man had sat down at his desk and started shuffling around some papers. There was a slight hesitation in his movements.

"We're friends," he stated simply in a light tone.

This guy seriously wasn't going to crack, was he? I wanted to know if he felt anything more toward my best friend. His actions made me think so, but the man was just so...confusing.

I plopped down on a chair beside his desk. "Want to play a game?" When Jin stopped shuffling around papers and gave me a slightly irritated sideways glance, I continued. "I'll tell you who I like if you tell me who you like."

Straightening himself, the black-haired male cleared his throat. Staring me directly in the eyes, he said flatly, "Considering it is quite obvious you like Owen, I don't think that game would be fair at all."

Before I could fire back a comment, the door to the building opened and Claire made her way into the examination room where Jin's desk was located. When she spotted me sitting in the area, she froze, quirking an eyebrow.

"Happy birthday!" I cheered, shooting up from my seat and tackling her in a hug. "My little Claire is growing up..."

"I'm older than you, dork..."

Rolling my eyes, I let go of her and stepped back, reaching into my rucksack as I did so. "I got you a present," I drawled, slowly pulling out the necklace and holding it out for her.

As a smile spread across her face, she took the necklace and examined it. "It's beautiful. Thank you." Once her blue eyes were done scanning the item, she clasped it around her neck. The bold color of the gem was nice contrast with her pale outfit. It looked quite nice on her.

Shyly, Jin stood up and went over to her. As Claire and I had been conversing, the man had pulled an art kit out of one of the drawers in his desk. "I got you a present too."

Claire's eyes were suddenly alight with an emotion I could never bring upon her. It was apparent that she sincerely enjoyed my gift, but Jin's gift was special just because he was actually giving her one when they weren't even too close of friends or going out. The gesture meant a great deal to her, and as she took the art kit from him, my lips curled into a sheepish smile.

"This is wonderful, Jin," Claire giggled, the skin at the sides of her eyes crinkling when she grinned. "I really love this. Thank you so much." The man seemed pleased that she valued his gift; he was blushing slightly and shifting from foot to foot, a light smile playing across his face.

My weak smile strengthened and I wrapped my arms around Claire and said softly, "Happy birthday."

XxXxX

The rest of fall drifted by slowly, the weather becoming increasingly more frigid. When the first day of winter finally arrived, I was surprised to find my best friend wearing a coat as she made her way to work. Claire had always loved cold temperatures and could tolerate the lack of heat well, but I supposed Jin would disapprove if she arrived at work without a coat on. I, myself, hated cold weather.

There was nothing to do on the farm; nothing really grew well during the winter except for a few crops. I planted them and watered them every day before hauling myself back inside my house and wrapping myself up in the sheets on my bed and falling asleep most days. Mining always sounded so appealing, but the cold temperatures outside would be nothing compared to the lower levels of the mine.

The person I admired had only visited me once since winter had started; he had come barreling down the path up by the path where the Caramel Falls District led to the Ganache Mine District. I had been watering my measles crops, just about done and ready to head inside. Owen had yelled at me, causing me to drop the water can onto my feet. The icy water had seeped through my boots and I had started to squeal and hop around, screaming at him in irritation. Instead of feeling sorry or being taken aback by my anger, he had simply laughed and followed me inside the house when I went inside to change my socks and boots. He was puzzled as to why I hadn't been to the mine lately, and I could tell he also wondered why I hadn't at least visited him.

Today was just one of those lazy winter days...I was buried under the thick covers on my bed. Eyelids drooping, I was almost asleep.

_Bam bam bam!_

Whoever was at the door caused me to sigh heavily and roll my eyes. I remained in bed for a few more seconds before sliding out of the warmth and rushing over to the door, hoping to get back before I became _too_ terribly chilly.

"What's up?" Chloe bounced into my house with a grin spread across her face, red-orange hair bobbing. "Haven't seen you in a long time, Angela. Are you okay?" After a couple high-pitched giggles escaped from her mouth, she added, "Are you and Owen having problems or something?"

After shooting a glare at her, I hurriedly crawled back under the covers on my bed and yanked them over my head. It was so cold out there.

I wasn't sure what Chloe was doing, but it was a bit surprising that she wasn't babbling the entire time she was in the house. I felt too lazy and too warm under the sheets to peek out and see what she was up to.

Suddenly, she went, "Mmm...this tomato is really great."

Tomato. Tomato? Oh no. "Chloe!" I cried, flinging the covers off of myself and flying over to her. "What do you think you're doing? You don't just get what you please out of other people's refrigerators and start eating!" My volume had abruptly skyrocketed, obviously scaring the little girl. Confusion and hurt was written all over her face as she swallowed the last bit of tomato she had eaten.

"I'm sorry, I was just really hungry..."

Taking in deep breaths, I restrained my hands from pulling on my hair. "That was the _last_ tomato, Chloe. Do you realize that there will be no more tomatoes until summer?"

Every time I shrieked the younger female would flinch. She was still so confused as to why I was getting so worked up about it. She had no idea I had _needed_ that tomato to make the second rainbow. Claire and I had figured out where the next Harvest Sprite was and had figured out the ingredients. That was the only one I had left. That was the only one left on the _island_. Ever since winter had rolled around, all the tomatoes were gone until summer. The whole fate of the island rested in my hands and from her eating that tomato...it put me behind by two seasons.

"It was just a tomato."

Closing my eyes, I seethed, "_Just_ a _tomato_? No, you just don't understand, Chloe. I want you out of here, and I want you out of here _now_." If she didn't leave at that moment, I was afraid something very bad would happen. The slightest thing could set me off, and I usually got very enraged about small situations. I felt like hitting something, or throwing something...

The look in her eyes hurt me a bit...she looked puzzled, innocent, and broken. She couldn't understand why I was suddenly so angry with her, acting as if I hated her so much I couldn't even look at her. Biting her bottom lip, she opened the door and left, not without whispering "sorry" before the door clicked shut.

XxXxX

Even with a thick winter coat, scarf, gloves, and ear muffs, I still wasn't warm enough. The winter wind was pounding into me, whipping my hair harshly around my face. My exposed skin stung, and it was hard to keep my eyes open all the way.

I had finally decided I wanted to go and mine. Just laying around all day every day suddenly seemed unappealing on this particular day. When I made it to the mine, I let out a heavy sigh and walked further into the mine.

My blue orbs landed on Chloe, who avoided all eye contact with me. The anger I had felt toward her had died off, leaving a guilty feeling resting in me. And if looks could kill, I would have been dead. Owen was glaring at me; he wasn't pleased at all. My assumption was that he had found out about the incident with Chloe. I didn't expect either of them to understand my side of the story, so attempting to apologize or explain seemed useless.

The man stole a glance at his cousin. "Chloe, can I talk to Angela alone for a second?" Oh great. He was in full "big brother" mode. Although we were friends, I knew the male put family first in his life. His usually nice and calm nature sometimes faded, such as it had just now. Chloe was now hanging out at the entrance of the mine, leaving Owen and I near the steps to the second level. "She really looks up to you, you know. It really hurt her when you got pissed at her over such a stupid situation. Why did you get so worked up, anyways?"

The disappointment and aggravation was laced in his voice and I couldn't meet his gaze. Stalling, I took my time and unwrapped the scarf from around my neck. "You wouldn't understand," I replied weakly. It was the truth. I couldn't tell him if I collected certain items I could meet up with a magical fairy and create a rainbow that would ultimately save the entire island from dying. Who would believe that? Surely not anyone in their right mind.

"Just tell me. Why wouldn't I understand?"

Stomping my foot, I snapped, "No one in their right mind would believe me. I'm going to sound like a dumbass and a liar if I tell you."

Crossing his arms, he looked away from my suddenly fierce gaze. "That brings me to the assumption that you didn't even have a reason. You just went overboard. Way overboard." After a second, his voice became a bit more dangerous. "It's not right to just go getting pissed off at people for such stupid reasons, especially younger ones. She doesn't understand why you're upset with her, and obviously there's not even a good reason for it."

"There's a reason for it, Owen. You can be mad at me all you want, and you can assume what you wish. I don't care anymore."

That was a lie, but by the hardening expression on his face I knew he took it seriously. If I had a knife with me, I was sure I could actually cut the tension that had built up in the area around us. It was silently determined that Owen was angry at me. He didn't say another word to me even as I stood there just waiting for him to speak. When I realized he wasn't going to talk to me, I hurried to the second level of the mine. Winter always brought out the worst in me, and apparently the same could be said for other people. It was the most popular season to be moody and irritable.

XxXxX

Half asleep, I was sitting on the fifth level of the mine in a corner. Mining just wasn't as fun during the winter because I had to stay bundled up the whole time and it was difficult to move in all my layers of clothing. During my break I had decided to curl up in a corner and try and get warmer.

When I eventually shook my head in order to defend myself against sleep, I stood up and found the stairs to the next level. After doing that, I ended up falling through a hole and landing on the ninth level. If I was lucky I would be able to get past the tenth level today where the more valuable gems were found.

At the tenth level, instead of rushing over to the stairs that led to the following level, I froze.

On the cold ground, with only a light jacket over his outfit, was a blond man wearing a cowboy looking hat. When his blue eyes caught mine he looked relieved. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought I might die down here."

"What happened?" I asked, hurrying over to him and kneeling down. His large hands were clutching his right ankle.

After a second he gave a heavy sigh. "I fell through a hole and I think I sprained my ankle. It hurts really badly." Biting his lower lip, he gently rubbed the tender spot. "I tried to stand on my own a bit ago, but it hurts too much to do so. I'm sorry for asking, especially since I don't know you, but would you mind helping me to the top level of the mine?"

Without answering, I offered him my hand and hauled him to his feet. The man slouched over toward me and I wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held it there, guiding him toward the steps.

The journey up to the first level of the mine proved to be complicated. My companion was limping, and would bump into me sometimes, causing me to lose my balance slightly. Getting up the sets of stairs was the biggest challenge of all. We had to take it slow, conquering one step at a time. Other than talking about our next move to get to another floor of the mine, we didn't speak. It felt like a huge accomplishment when we finally reached the first floor of the mine.

"I think I'll be okay getting home now," the man said with a nod. "I just knew I couldn't stand up or get up the stairs with my ankle sprained."

He started to slide his arm off my shoulder, but I grabbed it and clutched it a bit harder than I had been before. Concern was evident on my face, I knew that. I was always concerned for hurting people.

Shaking my head, I started to help him walk slowly toward the exit. "No, I will help you home. You're in no shape to walk there by yourself." Although I didn't look over at him, I knew Owen was watching us, and the tense air was lingering between us.

"Thank you so much...umm...what is your name?"

"Angela. I'm a farmer on this island. And you are?" By the time he answered me, we were passing through the exit of the mine.

"Calvin. I just moved here a few days ago. I'm exploring the legend of Waffle Island. There are ruins in the mine that I observe to try and find out more about this place."

My eyes widened slightly as my breath hitched in my throat. "Legend? The one about the..."

"Fairies?" A light-hearted laugh erupted from the man's chest. When I nodded, he smiled over at me. "The one about the Harvest Goddess and her helpers, yes. That is the legend I am researching."

Silence settled between us for a while after he quickly changed the subject, telling me where his house was. Various thoughts were nipping at my mind. Should I tell him about my encounters with the fairies? About the dreams I had of the Harvest Goddess? Even though he was investigating the legend, would he believe me? It was possible he would think I was making fun of him by making up stories about the tale. The words had been building within me ever since I had encountered the angry Owen. I had wanted to tell him, I really did, but had he even heard anything about the legend? That would make me sound even more insane if he didn't. Although there could be consequences of my confessions, I decided it was worth a shot with Calvin. It would definitely be worth it if he _did_ believe me.

"Calvin..." I drawled, trying to grasp the right words. Remaining silent, he limped along as we continued toward his house, and he waited patiently for me to say more. "I have dreams about the Harvest Goddess. I've even met some of the fairies. I have to help them restore the prosperity of this island."

When he didn't respond, I assumed he didn't understand and took that the way I was hoping he wouldn't.

Hurriedly, I gushed, "I know it's pretty unbelievable, but I'm not joking, and I'm not making fun of you for researching the legend. I just thought maybe someone would understand me instead of thinking I was insane!"

Noting my distress, the man's expression of slight distrust completely melted away into one of surprise. "I can tell you're being sincere. I...I just don't know what to say."

With a sigh of relief, I continued helping him to his home with a comfortable silence lulling between us. It wasn't the end of our conversation, I knew, but he just needed a little time to let the information sink into his mind.


End file.
